Follow the Gold
Follow the Gold is the tale of how the band of Mercenaries known as Acid found out where all the money spent repairing armour goes. An adventure that eventually took the mercenaries far beyond the borders of both Kalimdor, and Artis Morticulo. The Trip, and Lateness-tax® Kirtar had made the long trip from Orgrimmar to the Ruins of Eldarath, where he was to be taken by boat to Bilgewater Harbor. The caravan had been delayed due to the increasing Empire activity. Apparently someone named Feignbar was sending expeditions to Kalimdor, in search for some sort of Order. Kirtar couldn't care less. All he cared about was getting to that beach in time for his pickup, and although he had been assured that the goblin waiting for him was not going to set sail until he got there, he never really trusted goblins all that much. He would have never ventured to Bilgewater unless there was some serious coin in this new scheme Buckanesha had drawn up. It sounded nuts, but then again, all that money had to go somewhere. Upon arriving at the beach, the goblin who was supposed to take him there made a snide remark about his watch being gnomish. He disregarded it, and they set sail towards Bilgewater Harbor where he was to meet with Buckanesha and four of her business associates regarding the expedition. Buckanesha was waiting for him at the harbor. And after paying her something she called Lateness-tax®, she led him to a shack on the north side of the island, where her two associates were waiting for them. Kirtar almost screamed when he saw who it was. Unsuspected Associates Although they were covered in long, brown robes, it was easy enough to make out who it was she would have him meet with. On the left hand side of the room was an extremely tall figure. As tall as a tauren, but much slimmer and wearing boots - Obviously it was a Night Elf, a large sword and a shield leaning against the wall behind him. Next to him, a tiny huddle of robes, small like a goblin, but without ears poking out at the top of the robe, a gnome, she was leaning against a magnificent staff unlike anything Kirtar had ever seen. Next to her, a tall man, who until now had been staring at the floor, looked at him. Light radiating from his eyes, a human by the looks of it, obviously a powerful wielder of the Light, this man must be a paladin, and a powerful one at that. The last person was a tall feminine figure, a night elf by her height, where she stood, little sprouts of grass where breaking through the floor. She must be one of the famed Night Elf druids. Kirtar stood here, not knowing if he should feel humbled or attack the strangers, who were obviously not welcome in this part of Kalimdor. "It's quite alright," the tiny gnome squeaked "we mean you no harm." "Please, sit. We have a proposition for you." The Night Elf warrior said, in a deep, calm voice. Kirtar felt compelled to do as he was told. Next, the paladin spoke. "Thank you, Buckanesha, you may leave us for now" "Roger boss, I'll keep a lookout. Don't take too long" Buckanesha replied. And quickly exited through the door, which she closed behind her. The Meeting The paladin spoke again. "I assume by now you a wondering why there are two night elves, a gnome and an old man adressing you in the middle of what isn't exactly friendly territory. Please, don't give this anymore thought, for it matters little who were are and what we are doing here. We need your help, and understand that you lead a band of mercenaries, desperate enough to take on any challenge, and that is exactly the sort of people we need for the job we have in mind. You see - we are at war, with an invisible enemy, and for reasons I cannot tell you, we need you to lead an expedition, and find out where he gets his funds." The paladin paused, and looked towards the druid, who picked up where he left off. "Yes. I have been communing with the Dreamers, and we have found out how our enemy makes his gold, but we need to find out where he takes it, and then we need to shut down the operation for good. This is where you enter the picture. With the help of our gnomish friend and our mutual acquaintance, Buckanesha, We've come up with a plan, High Priestess?" The Gnome stood up. "Yes, well you see. We need someone. You. To. Well. Hehe. This is where it gets tricky. Our enemy funds his crazy war through robots. Several hundred thousands of them, you've probably used one yourself. Most people call it "Jeeves". It's a common commodity that most people use every day to repair their things, and take out their trash. Haven't you ever wondered what they do with all that money? Well this is it, you are about to find out." At this point, the gnome waited, as if for a gasp, an applause or something similar, but the truth of the matter was that Kirtar had quite a short attention-span. "We need you to plant a device on the Jeeves. A fake coin to be exact, it will tell us where the Jeeves goes after he flies away, and it will let us find out where the moneytrail ends. "And when you find out where the money goes. Take no hostages, and keep the spoils for yourself, just makes sure none of the enemies live to tell the tale!" The night elf warrior cut in. "And blow the place up afterwards" the gnome added. "And that." the night elf said. "Are we in agreement, mr. Kirtar?" The paladin asked. "I suppose so." Kirtar replied. "Good, Buckanesha will fill you in on the details." The four got up and left the shack without another word. Buckanesha came back in, grinning like a goblin that's about to make a fortune. Which in fairness, she was.